Keywording Tips for Stock Photographers, Part 5: Synonyms are Your Friend

Another week, another keywording tip for all you stock photographers out there. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our previous installments (entries, parts, chapters).

Which leads me to this week’s topic (theme, subject, focus). When it comes to keywording stock images, synonyms are your friend (pal, buddy, mate). There are hundreds of things out there that can be referred to by more than one word. As a stock photographer, you have no way of knowing which word your customers will use in their searches.



This problem (quandary, dilemma, obstacle) is magnified when you think about the international stock photography market. Even nations that speak the same language don’t always use the same words (Are your potential buyers looking for a truck or a lorry?).

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend hours keywording a stock image (photo, photograph, picture) with every possible word variation. But it is a good idea to include some common synonyms in your keywords lists, especially for stock images of popular subjects (think cell phone, cellular phone, mobile phone).